Old men, brats and cats
by HoshisamaValmor
Summary: After a long day of work, Levi has to wonder if the years have started to take a toll on him. And on his patience. Basically domestic tired Eruri fluff with Hange coming by and being Hange rather than an actual cat.


**Author's Note:** Can't really say this is inspired by chapter 83 because it obviously isn't, it's born out of an exhausted overworked overstressed brain that eventually rested the respective enveloper skull to a nice warm back and thought "This reminds me of Eruri, I should write down this idea it'll be like 1000 words max it'll be quick" and fell asleep 30 seconds later.

So this is essentially a light fic I just wanted to write out. First time writing eruri (implied anyway), first time writing Levi at his canon age, first time having this particular set of inspiration events, 1249813648936th time waiting a stupid amount of days to write down simple words.

Hange's fear is totally my random conception and no, unfortunately there are not real cats in this. In a future eruri fic hopefully. Also, Levi curses a lot.

 **Disclaimer:** I obviously don't own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan. Man I want season 2 and 3.

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If there was one thing that had always given him a sense of calm, relaxation, generally fitting the definition of 'pleasure' or 'joy', even if more often than not it served as a creeping form of emotional control, it was cleaning.

It was not, ever, a physical burden.

Of course, some times the straining would leave him a bit tired, both when he was a skinny kid and after joining the military. It left him a bit annoyed, but he rationally knew it was normal if the work was equivalently demanding. This time though, it was not rational.

Erwin had decided to reabilitate another abandoned headquarters facility, and thought that sending the brats to help would be in need. It wouldn't be a problem if those damn kids knew how to clean properly, but extra hands would always be accepted even if he had to inspect their work later.

The place was hardly as big as the Survey Corps HQ they had used when Eren was starting to train his Titan abilities, and they were nearly the double number of people this time, but it took three times more effort to clean. Furniture had to be moved and thrown out, smashed if need be to properly carry out, held up and moved from a place to the other, cleaning supplies moved here and there, old reports pilled up to the side or quickly checked to inspect their need before being tossed off, weeds and vine ripped from the courtyard, windows cleaned and layers of old spider webs and mold ripped off walls. Knowing more than well already (if he didn't before, he certainly learned from Levi) that water was the priority before any cleaning, Erwin had worked on resupplying the facility's plumbing the day prior (which also caused a couple of floodings because the system was messed up), but half the time it was used not for its supposed cleaning and instead to be thrown over their heads to keep the heat off them. Eren and Jean would _never_ get the heat over their heads and started yelling with each other over something stupid near lunch time and had the missfortune of not judging their surroundings or the warnings of their friends properly. So that time, the water thrown over their heads wasn't meant to refresh them and the buckets that followed it proved so. They remained grunting and moaning puddles sprawled on the floor for a while after Levi told them to return to work.

It _was_ insufferably hot. Fuck, it was hot. Against his own logic, he caught himself pulling his face scarf down more often than not, trying to breathe in some clean, non condensated oxygen, only to find dust-filled and over heated oxygen instead. Frequent sweatdrops creeped through his hair and the rag over his head and fell over his eyes, forcing him to rub his face constantly, but he relentlessly carried on climbing on and off chairs to fetch new wipers or to refill buckets. The Arlert boy came to help him several times, offering him cups of water each time that Levi only took sips of, too focused on getting all of this done in a day than anything else. He caught Mikasa muttering behind his back that he barely thanked Armin for his effort.

There was a growing heaviness to his limbs that felt strange, but he ignored it.

Erwin came by despite knowing the cleaning was still in process, together with a small horde of other officials that made Levi grunt just by seeing him through the window. Some other Survey Corps members came too. Knowing all too well they weren't coming to clean, he climbed off the chair he had currently been standing on and passed by the hallways where Sasha and Connie were resting by the window, commenting on precisely his thoughts; they were going to mess his impeccable cleaning.

"Captain Levi-" one of them started, he wasn't really too interested on which.

"Careful where you put your feet on, the brats and me haven't been working the whole fucking day for you to come strolling by like you're fucking waltzing."

"We'll be careful," Erwin assured, the faintest of smiles crossing his face for a moment. Levi snorted however slightly and shot a final warning stare to the official next to Erwin. "Have all of you rested at least? You seem worned out."

"The brats rested when we agreed they could rest. This is a big fucking place, we had more than enough to do."

"I mean you, Captain. You seem worn out."

"Like I said, it's a big place."

"I like these facilities, Erwin, we need to move in soon! There's a lot of room for all the research and- Oh, look at that courtyard!"

For fuck's sake.

"Hange, you're the one that gets no warning. Do not fucking step where Erwin isn't."

"Alright, alright."

...

By the time the sun started to set, it became slightly more bearable to work, but by then everything was almost done. He couldn't really complain of his new squad's work at all. They worked relentlessly next to him and mostly without complain. Even Eren and Jean, and the lizard kid really did know how to clean properly. They were all exhausted and he couldn't really blame them, while the officials were all up and mighty waltzing almost freely now that all the floors were mostly dry.

The work wasn't finished yet, but Levi cut the kids some slack. As he climbed up the stairs, a slight pinch bit him on the side of his rib and he ignored it. His arms felt heavier than usual as he pulled a door open and fetched the broom.

Normally, they would just unroll their sleeping bags and crash somewhere, but some of the rooms still had relatively preserved bed frames and mattresses that had been covered with sheets years prior, saving them from most of the wearing out. The kids could use a rest on something better than the floor. He tested the mattress and quickly started to sweep the whole room before wiping the floor spotless clean and then falling to his knees and drying it up with one of the last rags he had left. He shot a side look to the mattress and decided the kids could make their own fucking beds.

By the time he was cleaning the third bedroom, he barely had a conscient thought of his actions, his arms moving on their own physical memory. A brand new drop of sweat fell down his forehead and while he cleaned it up, the footsteps he heard outside approached and Mikasa caught up with him. The exhaustion expected in her expression was simply absent and she appeared like she had spent the whole day either training or resting - there was just no difference and no sign of tiredness.

"Captain, Sasha has made soup for everyone. The officials are all gone now."

"Finally. Annoying pricks."

"She sent me to fetch you, Captain. She said the soup will get cold and you'll complain later and she's scared when you do that because she thinks you'll throw a bucket over her head like you did Eren and Jean. She also said I shouldn't say this, now that I recall."

"I'm finishing this up here. You go eat something, you need it."

"Captain, if I may?"

"What."

"Why did you leave all the mattresses uncovered? No one will be moving here until three days from now, if I heard the officials right."

"We're sleeping here tonight, might as well do it on a bed."

"Oh. Uh."

Levi caught himself sighing in frustration and straightened himself up to his knees, snarling at the throb of pain on his side again. He turned to Mikasa and decided he really didn't give a fuck if the girl thought he was snarling at her.

"What?"

"That's... kind of you, sir."

"What are you talking about."

"Cleaning rooms for us. You... should go eat something. You seem tired."

"I'm not tired."

"If you say so."

Damn girl was right. It brought back Erwin's words from earlier too. When he finished the last room, the strain on his side was getting a bit too clear each time he moved for him to ignore, like a jolt that left him annoyed before he processed pain. As he got to his knees again and then pulled himself up groaning louder than he cared to admit, his body decided to let out enough senses for him to complain out loud to no one in particular. Fuck, he _was_ tired. Tired from cleaning? That just didn't make sense.

He wasn't even hungry. His feet joined the rising choir of aches and were now throbbing like he didn't remember before and all he wanted was go get off of them, the pinching on his ribs expanded slowly and for once in what felt like twenty years, he felt genuinely sleepy. Maybe not even in twenty years, he wasn't sure he had consciously felt this sleepy before. Maybe he did. Whatever.

Ok, fine. He was tired. One of the brats throw a party, the Captain was finally proving to be human with human needs. That'd make a nice theme for a party, let them throw one downstairs.

Or not, because he _was_ fucking tired and he'd start to share punches if anyone opened their mouths and any sound came out.

If there was something he always was and would always be, it was tenacious. His unwilling acknowledgement wasn't going to stop him from seeing the task to the end, and right now, it was getting a room for himself. Given this now constant and unfamiliar throbbing of his feet, he decided tonight he too should change for once and effectively lay down in a bed; no curling up on a chair or against a wall. Erwin would need it; putting up with those stupid assholes all the day was a straining he had to give credit to.

He repeated the whole process in the room he got for him and Erwin. His knees cracked when he stood up and again, his anger got directed at his body as if it could get intimidated.

"Well, fuck me. I'm getting old. Great."

"Captain Levi?"

"Here."

Erwin followed his voice and entered the room, quickly surveying the place and Levi's current task.

"Levi, don't you think it's enough cleaning for one day?"

"So we clean the entire place and not the place where we sleep in? I'm not a pig."

"We need to be practical sometimes," he said as Levi lowered the mattress and patted invisible dust off it. "Surely you don't need to clean everything."

"Shut up. Where's the practicallity in leaving half of the work done."

Erwin correctly guessed there was no point in presisting. Instead, he moved to help Levi stretch a sheet over the mattress, only to be halted by Levi's raised hand.

"Don't. Let me do it."

"You've been working since early morning."

"So this won't tire me much more."

"You're covered in dust."

After the fact, he almost cursed Erwin for pulling that card against him, but on the moment, Levi literally jolted his hands off the sheet and stepped away from the mattress. As soon as he spotted Erwin's small victorious smile, his curse did get muttered out.

"Fine, whatever."

Levi angerly pulled out the rag from his head and the one he had long forgotten around his neck and tried to loosen his hair, almost feeling the grains of dust clamped on the dried sweat. Disgusting. He needed to shower, quickly, and although he didn't like to sleep shirtless, given the still lukewarm night and the piles of dust that were embedded on his clothes, he probably would have little choice.

"I brought you a change of clothes," Erwin said, piercing through his thoughts. "I guessed it would be easier to sleep here and knew you wouldn't think about it."

"Oh. Thanks."

While Levi was busy with the clothes, Erwin's plan didn't really went like he might have wanted. He picked the bedsheet and threw it in the air, pinned one of the corners and used his knee to keep it from moving while he tried to pin the other.

He did the best to quickly adapt his mobility given the loss of his arm, and few people ever saw him with the expected struggles in the daily affairs. Not even when it came to writing did Erwin take long to appear recovered and completely functional. Levi was the one to note his hesitations and difficulties in the following days of his recovery, to note those hidden difficulties up to this day, how he'd sometimes still try to properly write down a word before filling down the reports, still struggle to button up his shirt, still get the phantom reflex to move both arms to grab something. Still did it when he wanted to hold Levi.

It was a simple and mundane action that became obviously more complicated for him, but he never complained and rationally, it was natural he needed these hardships to adapt and continue living.

Today was not a rational day. The sight of Erwin struggling to stretch the sheet pinched something on his chest and he quickly moved to help him, ignoring the dust and tiredness.

The showers ran smoothly, but the water was freezing. Levi didn't care. He bit back a hiss when it pierced his skin in ice cold temperature and washed all the filth from the day off him. He actually spent a couple of minutes extra in the shower to get off all that dust that despite his effort somehow creeped its way to his hair. He also washed his clothes; they'd be dried by the morning.

He didn't know what the kids were up to. How long since Mikasa had come call him? Maybe they were downstairs in the dining room or outside in the courtyard. They better be resting, tomorrow they had training. Damn brats.

Levi roughly put on the change of clothes Erwin had brought. If he were to actively sleep in a bed and without his uniform, it tended to be thanks to Erwin, because indeed, he just didn't often recall people changed clothes when sleeping.

He didn't share Levi's normal inability to sleep, but he did share his exhaustion. Erwin was already lying down on the bed when Levi returned quietly, and clearly he had either forgot a change of clothes for himself or just considered it still too hot to sleep with a shirt on. He had pulled close a makeshift bedside table and light a couple of candles that Levi considered putting out, but the quivering light was particularly welcoming. He climbed to the bed on to the side closest to the wall, clumsily turning the right way and finally sinking his head on a pillow with a long sigh, in what seemed like the first time he actually wanted to do that action. He hurt everywhere. He didn't hurt like this when he first tried out 3DMG all those years back.

"For fuck's sake, it was a long day."

"The officials insisted to see the facilities. I hope it didn't stagger the cleaning," Erwin said softly, apparently not sleeping like Levi thought.

"No, they didn't." Levi sighed. "I think I had an epiphany or a breakthrough or whatever you call it."

"Hm? An epiphany?"

"For the first time in my life, I think I realized I'm getting old."

He didn't know what to expect, but whatever it would be, he really didn't care right now. His eyelids were heavy and the shaking shadows on the wall were enchanting almost.

"You're getting old?" The strangely strangled sound took a while to process as a contained laughter.

"Old, tired, sore and with a fucking band of kids around my ankles. What the fuck is my life."

The muffled sound continued.

"What an epiphany that was."

"Fuck you, I'm aching. My feet are _aching,_ Erwin. I'm aching because I cleaned, not because I trained for a whole day or came back from an expedition. I'm sore from cleaning all day. If that doesn't mean I'm getting old and finished, I don't know what will."

"It means you should sleep for once."

"Why the fuck are you awake then?"

"I'm not as tired as you are. You're not old, just tired."

"I'm not getting younger either. We're all getting old."

Erwin cackled softly and turned on the bed. It was still too hot and Levi was secretly appreciative he didn't hold him right now. It would just be too sweaty and he had more than enough sweat taken off him already. And he admitted, to actually lay down on a bed seemed to be what he needed.

Erwin elected to let him rest for hopefully more than the couple of hours he usually did, probably hoping that peace and quiet would make the otherwise constant insomnia to vanish in the exhaustion. Levi hoped so too. He did curl on the bed time and again, crawling down on the bed with more silent groans from an old man escaping his lips as he tried to loosen the strain on his ribs and relieved his feet were feeling lighter. He turned again and his head found Erwin's large back, and there was no trace of sweat or dust on him and the muscles already relaxing. Lower on the bed as he was, their height difference became the exact same as if they were standing up. Through half closed eyelids, he caught himself curling up and comfortably rested his forehead against Erwin's back, hoping he wouldn't mind. He smelled nice.

He probably fell asleep. He would have experienced a full night of sleep for once. Obviously, something had to happen to prevent it.

Slowly, very distant, he heard something. It really did say something on his current condition, given the fact he didn't immediately jump back to his senses. His eyes struggled against his efforts and his ears tried to numb it back from his to sleep, but the slight banging grew clearer and so did the voice, even if coming from the other side of the wooden door. And that voice he'd recognize anywhere.

"Erwin? Are you still awake? Sorry it's so late..."

"Squad leader Hange?"

"Are you fucking kidding me."

"Levi, you're awake too! No surprise there I suppose. Would you-"

Still shirtless, Erwin climbed off the bed and opened the door where a very uncombed, very messy Hange was waiting with big eyes under the glasses and a big nervous smile. And that was all processed by Levi through sleepy-hazed eyes. He didn't even know Hange had stayed behind.

"Good night Commander! Wow, you do workout a seriously lot. Anyway, I'm sorry to bother you at this time, but... I, can I sleep with you?"

Erwin blinked and Levi groaned.

"I do not believe I'm following."

"I, you see, I do love these new facilities we'll be getting, but I, we have- apparently only in our quarters and not on yours- we have a bit of a mosquitoes invasion."

"We?" Levi groaned from under the pillow.

"Moblit and me, we can't really sleep. I mean, he can, he's just crashed and out, but I can't. And if you could be so kind to..."

"There's lots of rooms. Go crash with the kids."

"No, you don't understand Levi, they're _following_ me."

"Squad Leader..."

"They're following me Erwin! I hate mosquitoes! I do get their need for sustainance and their fascination with piercing things and the reaction they provoke but I _hate_ mosquitos and they hate me! We _get_ each other and we don't get along. You don't know how much they drink my blood! And Moblit isn't able to protect me..."

"Close the fucking window."

"It's so _hot_ Levi, did you notice the weather was incredibly hot today?"

No shit.

"I can't sleep with the windows closed, and the mosquitos are coming after me. I can't think while being eaten alive, so I can't try to study either, so I thought you two could protect me!"

That made an equally very uncombed, very messed up Levi raise his head from the pillow and Hange giggled nervously at the sight. He apparently looked even worse than he felt when he was tired.

"Four Eyes, I am not even going to say anything."

"That's great! I-"

"Squad Leader," Erwin interrupted calmly. "I do get what you're saying, but you must realize it's not like me or Captain Levi can protect you in this case."

"I'm pretty sure I'd feel safer."

"I can help you move to another room, but I'm afraid the temperature will remain the same."

"They're following me, Erwin!"

"If there's one thing in this place, it's rooms and dust. There's no more dust, so go find some other room."

"Moblit is currently the equivalent of brain dead, apparently, and he doesn't mind being heartlessly blood sucked by thousands of mosquitoes. He's not really helping me feel safe." Hange must have turned to Erwin with some inappropriately childlike eyes, taking from the tone. "Please Erwin, I promise I won't have one of these attacks again! It's just that I really can't stand this situation, I have a kind of phobia you see, pleeease?"

"What about some privacy and sense of personal space?"

"Given the circumstances, those are essentially the same thing, Levi. Privacy and personal space when in the context of a room do imply the same, as people are sleeping together and it's a sort of invasion to have a third party come in but-"

"Fuck you, you're out."

"But-"

"Out."

Do not try old tired Levi. All the frustration and pain pulled his elbows up, then his knees, then he crawled to the edge of the bed, tackled the edge of the door and banged it shut in a echo through the whole castle.

Erwin blinked again and looked down at Levi as he crawled back down the cave he had made with the sheets, even though half his body was uncovered.

"I need sleep."

...

He was the first to wake up five hours later. Erwin was soundlessly asleep next to him, and Levi rested his head on his shoulder, arm laying over the phantom arm and hand over his rib, enjoying some more minutes next to him. He did feel more comfortable when Erwin was asleep, when he was truly relaxed and not burdened with all his duties.

Dawn was barely peeking outside through the closed window. A bit relunctly, he stood up and carefully crawled out of bed not to wake Erwin up. The candles had been put out long ago, probably shortly after Levi had fallen asleep. He turned to Erwin, watched him breathe softly for a moment. He wondered if Erwin did the same, if he held on to him while Levi was sleeping.

But that was for another time. Right now he had enough to do already.

He had left his washed up clothes drying on the bathroom, and he'd begin by that. The kids were all asleep at this point, except for Sasha, who was probably prying the supplies Erwin brought now that her own improvised pantry was whipped clean. He had so much paperwork to attend today, and-

He might have tripped and fall first thing in the morning, but sleep had restored his senses. He stopped right before he stepped over the curled ball sprawled right in front of the bedroom door, a tangled mass of hair pointing out where the head was. Hange looked like a fucking huge, weird cat sleeping at a porch.

Old, tired, aching, resting in bed against the shoulder of another old man, surrounded by a bunch of kids and a weird cat.

For fuck's sake.

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the end

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Author's Note: Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated and please point out mistakes.


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